Booth C9
Art Dubai
Addis Fine Art returns to Art Dubai for the fourth time, exhibiting a group show of four artists from across Ethiopia and its diaspora, including Tadesse Mesfin, Addis Gezehagn, Tsedaye Makonnen and Tizta Berhanu. Each of these artists will be showcasing powerful new works which explore and document the human condition and its often-tumultuous nature - made all the more relevant given the current times we are living in - and humanity’s adaptability and resilient responses to these moments of upheaval.
Tadesse Mesfin (b.1953) is a giant of the Ethiopian art scene. He holds a unique position as both a figurehead of the Ethiopian modernist movement, and as a long- time educator through his role as a professor at the influential Alle School of Fine Art and Design in Addis Ababa. In December 2020, Mesfin made his European solo debut in Pillars of Life in London. His latest body of work is a continuation of his ongoing series celebrating the women who work as small-holder vendors in markets across Ethiopia.
Tsedaye Makonnen (b.1984) is a multidisciplinary artist whose studio, curatorial, and research-based practice threads together her identity as a daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, a Black American woman, doula and a mother. She is concerned with the transhistorical forced migration of Black communities across the globe and Feminism, a narrative that she explores primarily through her Astral Sea series, an installation and textile work activated through performance.
Addis Gezehagn (b.1978) dreamlike collage works are a documentation of the increasingly changing urban landscape of Addis Ababa, made by layering magazine cut outs with acrylic paint. By examining the personal and public spaces in these areas, his works archive walls and towers destined to crumble, tracing a pattern of classism and social injustice and offering a commentary on the socio-economic context of urban life.
Tizta Berhanu(b.1991) is an exciting young painter from Addis Ababa who has received much praise during her relatively short career. She was previously part of Art Dubai’s residency program in 2020, and she recently made her solo debut at Addis Fine Art’s Addis Ababa gallery in December 2020. The exhibition titled Heber, was a continuation of her artistic investigation into human emotions through her preferred medium, figurative painting.
Dubai International Financial District Sheikh Zayed Rd - Trade CentreDIFC - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
Installation views of Art Dubai 2021. Courtesy of Jalal Abuthina and Addis Fine Art.
